Intellectus Through Realization Of Time Of Time example essay topic

The Great Divorce: The Realization of Leisure The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis suggests that choices made on earth have a consequential effect towards our acceptance into heaven or our plummet into hell. In this book pride manifests itself in a hundred subtle ways as souls whine about perceived injustices or irrational motives. Thankfully, a few tourists do humble themselves, become transformed into marvelously real beings, and remain in heaven. But most don't, about which the great Scottish author George MacDonald, Lewis' heavenly guide, says, "They may not be rejecting the truth of heaven now. They may be reenacting the rejection they made while on earth".

George MacDonald the narrator / teacher, from whom Lewis found inspiration for his book, is the guide in the journey through the gates of heaven. This provides great wisdom throughout the book which is not understood without reflection. MacDonald in essence presents Lewis with a choice while journeying in the gates of heaven. The stories of lost ghosts in the heavenly gates only provide reflection for Lewis' own choice. This choice is not revealed by Lewis, rather it is up to the reader to make his / her own choice.

MacDonald gives guidance towards our choice, "The choice of every lost soul can be expressed in the words, 'Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. ' There is always something they prefer to joy... ". (71).

At one point in the book McDonald observes a ghost with Lewis and suggests that truth is a lifelong process, our life longs for this truth. Although we may not all realize truth because of lack of time, Lewis suggests it's just a matter of obtaining the truth through good use of time. "Evil can be undone, but it cannot 'develop' into good. Time does not heal it" (Preface: V ). Time is in essence, if perhaps used in the way of authentic leisure, a God given tool for overcoming evil and obtaining the truth of heaven. The women in chapter eleven loves her son so much that she has no love left to give and no room for love to be received.

The spirit offers to open love to her, when she replies by requesting to see her son. This love has perhaps prevented her from receiving intellectus (receptivity of knowledge), and in my mother's case, even the ratio (reasoning) is affected. The saying "love conquers all things" is true, even if it is not also conquering for the good. Lewis explains love in chapter eleven through the discourse of a ghost and spirit, referring to something evident in my life, maternal love hit home for me. Adoption has brought me through the hands of my birth mother to a mother who has now raised me for 16 years. Conversations with my birth mother result in dramatic feelings for her and for me, "tyranny of the past" (p. 102).

But, Lewis suggests in the book that the past is all she (the ghost) "chose to have" and that "it was the wrong way to deal with sorrow". My birth mother could very well be the ghost as I was even an 'accident'. As her memory of me is deceiving and still consuming her thoughts. This maternal or instinctual love is preventing my mother from moving on in her own life.

A material mind set is a reality of many entrepreneurs and is well represented in this book through the man with the bowler hat, Ikey. This mans thoughts revolve around providing necessity, "But if I can come back with some real commodities... why, at once you'd get a demand down in our town" (p. 13). For a real world entrepreneur, such as Ikey, it would be simple for thoughts to be consumed by opportunism. If thoughts are consumed by need, it leaves less time to reflect on choices and can cause Acedia (restlessness or despair). Lewis makes this point later in chapter six while referring to Ikey, .".. still availing himself of every scrap of cover, he set out on his Via dolorosa to the bus, carrying his torture" (p. 49). Ikey's refusal to rest denies him an opportunity, which any entrepreneur would never give up, but in this instance his restlessness (Acedia) denies God to open the gates of heaven for him.

In chapters two and five a man with the gaiters is found with a profound knowledge of things, but still proves not to obtain 'Real understanding' of knowledge. This man is found in chapter five reasoning with a spirit, a young boy. The man is so concerned with knowing that his ratio has blinded him of receiving intellectus. One section in chapter five, when the spirit asks the man if he can still desire happiness, explains his blindness.

The man replies", 'Happiness, my dear Dick,'. ... ' happiness, as you will come to see when you are older, lies in the path of duty' " (p. 43). His blindness of intellectus lies in his belief that duty is the path to happiness, when all he needs to do is let go of his intense reasoning and receive what the spirit has to offer (intellectus). An artist in chapter nine is interacting with a spirit. His art has consumed his mind to a state of proletarianism.

This artist began work with his love being the "light itself", but it later became an activity "for its own sake" (p. 81). In other words, his art became work and with it his state of mind changed. Art became a means rather than an end which it started and in result lost. The art, once spiritual, became "this spiritual disease... caused by external pressures, ultimately resides in the soul" (Chapter IV: Deproletarianizing the worker). The art has become to this artist more of an "amusement than an affirmation of God's love" (Feast as Worship).

This artists work began as an effortless "way of knowing" (Knowledge: Ratio and Intellectus). His intellectus had true meaning and gave him visions where this knowledge was transformed into his paintings. His concept of time was non-existent when he was painting for the sake of painting itself. Later in time he changed and found that he could obtain monetary satisfaction from painting. This reasoning of time, instead of "being in the moment of time itself", caused him to start observing in the ratio. Everything was beautiful to the artist in the moments of intellectus.

However, while painting in the ratio he noticed some things were more beautiful to paint than others. Ratio is what caused him to not enter through the gates of heaven. He had not preserved his intellectus or true beauty of things. He had lost intellectus through realization of time, of time slowing. So, instead of letting time go he grabbed it which brought him to reason his paintings through the mind rather than the spirit. "Reality never presents us with an absolutely unavoidable 'either-or'; that, granted skill and patience and (above all) time enough, some way of embracing both alternatives can always be found" (Preface: VII).

Lewis suggests here that time if spent right can bring us to self-realization of our journey, and in effect influence our choices. These choices are dependent on time. As wrong choices are made only in time, no truly rational choices can be made will out of the realm of time. Time is the evil that surrounds us. It is the letting go of this time when we truly feel void of problems. Only by letting go of our problems we will be able to communicate with God, while in the essence of being one with ourselves and finding our true inner self.